Well



Dec. 4 1923. 1,476,554

.1. N. swANsoN WELL Filed July 5, 1.922 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 M 53W W Dec. 4,1923. 1,476,554

J. N. swANsoN WELL Filed July 5, 1.922 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 4, 1923.1,476,554

J. N. SWANSON WELL Filed July 5, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. 4 1923.

J. N. SWANSON WELL Filed July 5, 19 22 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Dec. 4,1923.

UNITED TES- JOHN H. SWANSON, or IQWA PARK, TEXAS.

WELL.

Application filed July 3, 1922. Serial No. 572,663.

T all whom itwm concern Be it-known that I, JOHN N. SwANsoN, a citizenof the United States, residing at Iowa Park, in the-county of Wichitaand State'of Texas, have invente certain new and useful Improvements inWells, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to well packing ap; paratus' and has as an objectthe provision of apparatus to pack a well and to remove the casing abovethe packing so as to salvage as large a portion of the casing pipe aspossible. i

A further object of the invention is the provision of means to placecement about a liner placed in a well or around the casing left in awell after being disconnected as hereinafter fully explained, either toserve as a packing by itself or in addition to other packing means. I

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawing, forming a part of this specification, in which similarcharacters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures,and in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section through a well partlybroken away to shorten the same.

Figure 2 is a detail vertical section through a portion of the wellshown in Figure 1 drawn to an enlarged 'scale and showing a differentposition of parts.

Figure 3 is a detail vertical section through a portion of thewellshowing the packing device released.

Figures 4 and 5 are horizontal sections on lines 4-4 and 55 respectivelyof Fig. 2. Figure 6 is a side elevation of one of the packing element-s.

Figure 7 is a side elevation of a canvas cover for the device of Figure6.

Figure 8 is a detail vertical section show-,-

ing actionof cement shield.

igure 9 is a detail vertical section showing the action of the tampingdevice.

F igure lo is a detail vertical section show ing the application ofcement to a well having placed therein a liner seated just above theoil-bearing sand and without the use of the packing device provided bythe vention.

Figures 11, 12 and 13 show modified forms of concrete shields.

Figures 14 and 15 are detail vertical sections of modified forms oftamping devices.

well it is customary to placea string ofcasing in a well after havingentered or passedthrough a water bearing stratum, the bottom end of thecasing carrying a driving shoe with a cutting edge of the kind indicatedat 10 which cutting edge is passed through the Water bearing stratum anddriven down into contact 1 with the water tight formation usually foundjust below the water stratum. It is usually possible to imbed thecutting edge lO-into such intimate contact with the harder formationthat water will not find its way past it. The drill with which the wellis opened will make .a hole of larger diameter in the softer strata thanit will in the harder or rock formations. Therefore the casing will havea space such as shown at 11 about it in the softer strata, while theopening in the harder formations will be small enough to make thecontact above mentioned with the a cutting edge 10.

-The first pipe placed in the well as a casing is of large diameter inorder to allow the drill to work through it to continue the holedownward after the need of shutting off water, sand, q'uick sand orcavey.

formation, has necessitated the placing of a string of casing. When thewell is com pleted or abandoned it is desirable to salvage as much ofthe casing as possible since it is not needed in the well for otherreasons than cutting oil of the water from the oil bearing sands. Whenpulling a string of casing it is customary, using various means known tothe art, to apply exceptional pulling power to the upper end of thecasing and exert sufficient pull thereon to either cause the wholestring of casing to ecome out intact or to separate at some point. Ifthe string separates it will of course separate at the weakest point,and only a few lengths of casing-may be sale vaged.

After the pulling of the casing from thev hole, water or oil, if underpressure; may riseabout the casing and flow over the top of thecasingremaining in the well, thus gaining access to some oil or water bearingsand to its rapid deterioration throughout a wide area about the well.It is here understood that in many developed oil fields there are to befound several oil bearing ;sands which may themselves be interlaid withwater bearing sands at various depths, but the lower oil sands usuallyprove the better producers; and it has been found inadvisable to try toextract the oil from two or more sands penetrated by the same well;therefore it is desirable and necessary to ,protect one sand. from theother by means of mudd'ing off, packing or by leaving a string of casingfor that special purpose. To enable the operator at will tocause thecasing to'separate at any desired point'the invention provides aseparable joint 12 which is supplied upon a specially formed section 13of easing which section is provided with the usual right hand thread 61at its lower end for connection with the usual form of coupling 62 to bethereby joined to a length of casing 63. Where the operation isconducted in an old oil field and the formation is well known 'it ispossible to place the cutting edge 10 upon the lower end of a length ofpipe and the special fitting 13 at 5 the upper end of the same length ofeasing,

orspaced above the cutting edge two or more lengths if so desired,sufiicient casing being placed between the cutting edge and the specialfitting to span. the water bearing stratum which will be encountered atthe lower end of the casing in question. By this practice the greatestpossible amount of the casing will be salvaged when the same is pulled.

' bell is castellated as at 16 and is adaptedto join with acomplementary ca-stellated end upon a ring 17 provided with acontinuation of the left hand thread 15. IA short length of pipe ornipple 18 with an exterior left hand thread of considerable length isscrewed into the ring 17 and bell 14 while they are. joined together asclearly indicated in Fig. 2. The upper end of the nipple 18 is pro vidcdwith a right hand'thread at 19 to connect with an ordinary collar orcoupling 20 and to be therebyjoined to the regular easing ilextending tothe surface-or mouth of the we v Vhen it is desired to separate thespecial joint provided by the invention the casing at. the mouth of thewell is revolved in a clockwise direction which operation will unscrewthe left hand threaded nipple 18 from the left hand threads in hell '14.The c'astellation 16 will prevent revolution of the ring 17 relative tothe bell 14. ''When the casing has been turned the known number ofrevolutions which are necessarv to withdraw the nipple 18 from the bell14 to a position within the ring 1.7 the casing may be pulled and all ofthe casing above and including the nipple 18 and the ring 17 will beretrieved.

i the quality of curling when released like the To pack the welladjacent the top of the casing left in place the fitting 13is providedwith the automatic packing arrangement which, as shown, comprises aplurality of spring members 21, four being shown, which are placed ingrooves 22 formed in the surfaceof'the fitting 13 and which are securedat their bottom ends as by means o-f'rivets 23.

The springs 21 are formed so as to have main spring bf a. watch orclock. The springs 21 are prevented from curling until the action isdesired by means to be described and to prevent the center of thesprings from bulging outwardly by being so prevented from curling theirends are perforated, which perforations are placed over pins 24projecting from the annular portion of the bell 14:. The relation of thesprings to the pins 2 1 is such that they are perfectly free to leavethe pins in the direction of the length of the pin but not transversethereto as would be required by an attempt of the springs to bulgeoutwardly at their center. To close the space between the fitting 13 andthe wall of the hole formed by the drill a sleeve 25, preferablyformedof rubber, is slipped over the fitting 13 and over the springs '21,while the latter lie inthe grooves 22. and is secured to the fitting 1-3by the rivets 23 which hold' the lower ends of the springs in place. Theupper end of the sleeve 25 is fastened to the springs 21 by means ofhollow rivets and which hollow rivets in turn slip over pins 21. Whenthe springs and the sleeve 25 are released the tendency of the springsto curl will cause the sleeve 25 to curl with them into the positionshown in Figure 3 at 26' which figure shows the sleeve 25 forming anannular spiral about the fitting 13 and in coiitact with the wallof thehole. If desired the sleeve 25 may also be manufactured to curl by itsown law of internal stresses.

To protect the sleeve 25 while the casing is being placed and also tofurther assist same and springs 21 in their process of cnrling,protecting them from interference by possible cavey substances fallingdown about the casing, a second sleeve or shield 27 preferably formed ofcanvas and preferably watertight may be placed about the fitting 13 andover the sleeve 25'and secured to the fitting as by means of thewrapping 64 of twine or wire. To provide a fullness v of material in thesleeve 27 to allow of the .curling action of the sleeve 25 and the witha metal trimming as at 30. To hold the upper ends of the sleeves 27 andand to prevent the springs 21 from leaving the pins 24, a light metalsleeve 31 may be secured to the ring 17 by screws 32, a shoulder 33preferably being formed on the ring to bring thering fiush with theexterior of the sleeve 31. .The lower end of the sleeve 31 may beslitted to provide tongues 35 which tongues are bulged outwardly and theends thereof are turned inwardly to grasp the sleeves as shown in FigurelVhen the joint 14, 17 is separated at castellations 16 in the manneralready described the tongues 35 will yield so as to ull away from thesleeves 27, 25, upon which the action of the springs 21'will cause thesleeve25 to assume the position shown in Figures 1, 3 and.8.-

The action of the packing sleeve 25 may be sufficient to stop the flowof water where the head is not too great, but if not it will benecessary to'place concreteon top of the packing formed thereby. Inorder to place this concrete after the casing has been removed it isnecessary to prevent the concrete gaining access to the inside of thecasing. To perform this function the device shown in various forms inFigures 8 to 13 inclusive may be utilized.

' As shown in Figure 8 the device comprises a conical shield 34 of asize adapted to fit over the casing to be protected, inthis instanceover the bell 14. To guide the shield 34 an inverted conical member 36is shown secured thereto by means of a rod 37 provided with theshoulder. 38 at its lower extremity and with the ring nut 39 at its top.

A wei ht 40' may be hung from a ring 41 at the I ower end of the rod 37and a cable 42 may be connected to the ring 43 to lower the device inplace and to' remove it after the operationis completed. With the shieldv34 in place concrete may be' freely drop ed into the well and it willall be deflected into the annular space. around the fitting 13' or thecasing about which the concrete is to be placed.

To tamp the concrete about the casing a tamper such as shown in Figure9, comprising' a section of pipe 44, of any desired length, providedwith a bail 45, may be lowered by means of acable 46 and may be liftedand dropped upon the concrete in' an obvious manner. The tamper 44 neednot be removed from the well in intervals of the placing of concretesince the concrete will fall to position freely through the same. Theillustration of Figure 9 shows the placing of concrete about a wellcasing of ordinar form not equipped with the special pac or provided bythe present invention. To avoid the necessity of having a completeseparate shield for each size of casing to be treated the modificationsof Figures 10, 11 and 12 may be adopted. In these figures a size ofshieldis shown in Figure 10 which will sit upon the upper edge of thecoupling of a certain size pipe. When used with the next larger sizepipe the shield 34 will fit inside the coupling and rest upon the upperedge of the casing as shown in Figure 11. When it is desired to use thesize of shield in question with a casing larger than that shown 'inFigure 10 asupplemental shield 47 may be secured to the shield 34, as bymeans of hooks 48, taking over studs 49 provided upon the exterior ofthe shield 34. The supplemental shield 47 is of a size to nest insidethe lower end of the shield. A variety of sizes of rings 47 may beprovided whereby to pack every size of casing used in the single well.

A still further modified form of shield is shown in Figure 13 in which arod 50 is provided with a ring 51 at its lower end for attachment of aweight 52 and is provided with an extended length of thread at its upperend. A pair of concavo-convex discs 53, 54 are shown as clamped upon therod 50 by means of pairs of nuts 55, 56 and a ring nut 57 may be securedto the upper end of the rod and fastened thereon by means of theclamping nut 58 for attachment of the cable 42. The different sizes ofeasing of a well may be accommodated by the device inFigure 13 by theprovision of an assortment of discs 54 each used with the same disk 53which. latter disc will be substantially equal in diameter to thesmallest couplin used. I

-M0di%ed forms oftampers are illustrated in Figures 14 and 15 at 59and.60.

By the'use of the apparatus provided by the present invention each wateror oil bearing stratum encountered in the well may be sealed off andonly suflicient casing may be left in the well, when the formation ispreviousl known, to span the strata which it is desirable to seal and toaccommodate the shields. The retrieving of the casing rendered possibleby the invention will resultv in great economy in the drilling of thewell and the sealing'ofi' of the strata will result in a conservatioriof the oil field.

Minor changes may be made in the physical embodiment of the inventionwithout departing from its spirit.

, I claim:

1. A well packer comprising in combination, a section of casing, a jointinsaid casing adapted when in a well to be disconnected b means actingat the mouth of the well an :means released by such disconnection toobstruct the space around the casing.

' 2. A well packer comprising in combination, a section of casing havina right hand thread at its lower end an a left hand thread at its upperend and means operable tion, a section of easing, a plurality of springssecured at one end to said casing,

said springs adapted to automatically assume a spiral form when free, asleeve about section and springs, a metallic sleeve carsaid casing andmovable with-said springs, means to normally hold said springs andsleeve extended and means to at will release said springs and sleevewhereby said-sleeve will assume an annular spiral position to close aspace about said casing.

4. A well packer comprising in combination, a section of casing havingan external right hand-thread at its lower end and an internal left handthreadat its upp r end,

i a section of easing having an external left hand thread at its lowerend adapted to unite with said first named left hand thread, a pluralityof normally vhelical springs secured to said first named'section attheir lower ends and held against curling at their I upper ends.

5. A well packer comprising in combination, a section of casing having aright hand thread at its lower end, an internal left hand thread at itsupper portion and recesses in the upper end thereof, a ring having aninternal left hand thread and projections adapted to seat in saidrecesses, a section of pipehaving an external left hand thread adaptedto enter said rin and section whereby the casing above sai section maybe rotated in a clockwise direction to remove said second named sectionfrom engagement with the first named section whereupon the casing may bewithdrawn from the well and packing means carried by said first namedsection. v

6. A Well packer comprising in combination, asection of casing having anexternal right hand thread at itslower'end and an internal left handthread at its upper end and recesses in' the edge of its upper end, aring having projections adapted to enter said recesses and a left handthread to form a continuation ofrthe first named left hand 3. A wellpacker comprising in combina ravaaaa thread, a section of casing havinga left hand thread at its lower end adapted to enter the lower ends tosaid first named casing, and

releasably held in an extended posit1on in contact with said section, asleeve about said ried by said ring enclosing the end of said firstnamed sleeve and springs, to hold the same in the extended positionwhereby when the casing is revolved in a clockwise direction theinternal left hand thread will be withdrawn from said first namedsection without revolution of said ring, and said casing, ring andsecond namedsleeve may be Withdrawn to release said first named sleeveand springs whereby to pack the space about the first named section.

7. A well packer comprising in combination, a section of casing, aplurality of normally curled springs secured at their lower ends to saidcasing, means to releasably hold said springs extended, a sleeveenclosing said springs and casing and secured thereto at its lower end,means to at will release the upper end ofvsaid springs and sleeve topermit the same to assume a helical position whereby to close the spaceabout said casing in a well.

8. A well packer comprising. incoinbination, a section of casing havinglongitudinal grooves in its outer surface, a normally curled sprinsecured at its lower end in each of sai grooves, means to hold saidsprings extended within said grooves, a rubber sleeve enclosing saidcasing and springs and secured thereto at its lower end, a sec- 0ndsleeve enclosing said first named sleeve and having folds in itsmaterial to provide a fullness when released, means to hold said springsahd sleeves in their extended position, said means being releasable atwill whereby "to allow said springs and first named sleeveito assume ahelical form to close a space about said casing in a well.

JOHN N. SWANSON.

